Solar active powder for fusion powder coating

ABSTRACT

A fusion powder coating useful in forming a coating by fusion of the powder comprising a solar active or a photovoltaic pigment in combination with a resin including a conductive resin and a device for generating electric energy from solar or photo illumination comprising an electrode, a first powder coated layer of an absorptive pigment and a resin, a second powder coated layer of the aforementioned solar active powder, and a protective layer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 14/230,343 filed on Mar. 31, 2014, which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/814,522 filed on Apr. 22, 2013. The disclosures of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

A fusion or powder coating process is a process in which a coating powder is distributed over a substrate and heated. The heated powder fuses to form a continuous film. The substrate may be heated or unheated when the powder is applied, although heat is subsequently supplied from an external source, such as an oven, causes the powder to fuse into a continuous film. Known processes for applying powder coating compositions to a substrate include electrostatic spraying, fluidized bed coating and hot flocking.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A solar active or photovoltaic composition comprising a solar active or photovoltaic pigment in combination with a resin including a conductive resin is described. This composition may form a coating upon fusion or heating. The composition itself is formed by blending the solar active or photovoltaic pigment into a conductive rein, extruding the blend, and grinding the extruded blend to form a powder. The solar active or photovoltaic pigment may be strontium phosphor, a solar nano dot, and/or a semiconductor, such as gallium arsenide. The resin may have a Tg greater than about 62° C., a hydroxyl number of about 40 to 45, and/or a hydroxyl equivalent weight of about 1247 to 1403. The conductive resin may be a phenolic or conjugated polymer, a polymer containing a conductive pigment, or an acrylate rein. An absorptive pigment, such as titanium dioxide, may also be provided.

Another aspect contemplates a device for generating electric energy from solar or photo illumination. The device includes an electrode, a first powder-coated layer of an absorptive pigment and a resin, a second powder-coated layer of a solar active or photovoltaic composition as described above, and a third powder-coated protective layer. The photoactive pigment in the second powder-coated layer may include strontium phosphor and/or phthalocyanine-coated glass flake.

A final aspect contemplates a composition having 55.8% powder coating resin; 3.5% absorptive pigments, 4.0% organic conjugated solar active material, 15.0% titanium dioxide, and 21.7% polymeric isocyanurate curative. These percentages are based on gravimetric basis, consistent with the disclosure below.

In view of the foregoing, one embodiment of the invention comprises a method of manufacturing a solar-active device or component which generates electricity when a coated surface of the device or component is exposed to actinic, photo, and/or solar energy. The method includes providing a substrate and applying a first powder coating composition including a first resin base and at least one photovoltaic and/or solar active pigment in order to form a photoactive layer. An additional powder coating composition for forming an absorptive layer may be applied to the substrate prior to application of the composition needed to form the photoactive layer, thereby interposing the absorptive layer between the substrate and the photoactive layer. An optional powder coating composition may be applied to create a protective layer. The powder coating compositions are heated, separately or in combination to form a fused laminate film adhered to the substrate. Still additional aspects of the method are disclosed in greater detail in the appended claims and below.

Thus, further reference is made to the appended claims and description below, all of which disclose elements of the invention. While specific embodiments are identified, it will be understood that elements from one described aspect may be combined with those from a separately identified aspect. In the same manner, a person of ordinary skill will have the requisite understanding of common processes, components, and methods, and this description is intended to encompass and disclose such common aspects even if they are not expressly identified herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the respective scope of the invention. Moreover, features of the various embodiments may be combined or altered without departing from the scope of the invention. As such, the following description is presented by way of illustration only and should not limit in any way the various alternatives and modifications that may be made to the illustrated embodiments and still be within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Any elements described herein as singular can be pluralized (i.e., anything described as “one” can be more than one). Any species element of a genus element can have the characteristics or elements of any other species element of that genus. The described configurations, elements or complete assemblies and methods and their elements for carrying out the invention, and variations of aspects of the invention can be combined and modified with each other in any combination. As used herein, the words “example” and “exemplary” mean an instance, or illustration. The words “example” or “exemplary” do not indicate a key or preferred aspect or embodiment. The word “or” is intended to be inclusive rather an exclusive, unless context suggests otherwise. As an example, the phrase “A employs B or C,” includes any inclusive permutation (e.g., A employs B; A employs C; or A employs both B and C). As another matter, the articles “a” and “an” are generally intended to mean “one or more” unless context suggest otherwise.

One manifestation of the disclosure is a powder coating composition that is useful for energy absorption to convert natural energy into electricity via direct light. This composition can be applied electrostatically to various substrates types (such as wood, plastic, metal, concrete, aluminum, etc.) to form a solid over the various substrates types. This technology can be used as a direct replacement for the solar glass panel technology.

In one embodiment of the invention, a powder suitable for fusion powder coating as disclosed herein includes a solar active or photovoltaic pigment in a conductive resin matrix. The powder is made by blending the pigment with the resin, curing the resin (e.g., after extrusion) and grinding the cured resin layer into a powder. In one embodiment, the pigment is blended with the resin in an extruder.

In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a laminate that is made up of three powder coated layers. One layer is applied to and carried on a conductive substrate which functions as an electron collector or electrode. This layer may contain a light-absorptive or reflective pigment that directs light energy that is incident the laminate to the photovoltaic or solar active pigments that are contained in a second layer that is positioned on the light incident side of the absorptive a reflective pigment layer. The photovoltaic/solar active layer is overcoated with a surface layer that functions as a protective coating. In one embodiment, the photovoltaic or solar-active pigment may be nanodots. In summary, this platform utilizes absorption pigments and photoactive materials and, in one embodiment, organic dye photoactive materials, to convert incident actinic, photo, or solar energy into electricity. One embodiment utilizes about 30-45% total pigment loading.

Photoactive Layer

Coatings developed in accordance with this disclosure for making the photoactive layer may convert the energy of a light source (e.g., daylight D65/CWF/direct sun light, etc.) into electricity by utilizing photo or solar active chemical additives that are blended or embedded (e.g., using a master batch) into a powder coating resin matrix that is conductive. In one embodiment the resin matrix for the photoactive layer includes a resin having a glass transition temperature greater than about 60° C., more particularly greater than about 62° C. with (DSC), a hydroxyl (OH) number of about 40-45 and a hydroxyl equivalent weight (nominal), of about 1200 to 1400 and, more particularly, about 1247-1403; a hydroxylated polyester resin, such as Rucote 118 from Bayer Science Materials, or SP100 or SP400 from Sun Polymers International that is typified by a hydroxyl number of 42+/−10 (mg KOH/g), and a melt viscosity specification of 8500 (at 200° C.), or a combination thereof. In one embodiment the two resins may be blended at a ratio of about 70/30 (first resin to second resin). This produces a more homogenous mix when introduced to the additional fillers and additives when mixed and extruded.

The resin system used in the photoactive layer also contains a conductive resin, such as a conjugated resin, in order to electrically conduct the electrons generated upon exposure of the photoactive pigment to the underlying layer and the electrode. Examples of conjugated polymers include phenolic resins, such as DER 663U from Dow Chemical, GT76013 from Huntsman Master Batch, as well as resins including a conductive pigment such as Cabot 800 Black Pigment or Ferro FE6331, a conductive black pigment. A polymethyl methacrylate polymer may also be used as a conductive resin, such as AG500 from Sun Polymer. Other examples of conductive resins include poly(2-methoxy-5-(3′7′-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene from Sigma-Aldrich which is a light emitting conjugated polymer of the rigid rod family, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) electronic grade 99.995% trace metals from Sigma-Aldrich, and zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) with 90% zinc from Sigma-Aldrich. In one embodiment, the conductive polymer may be used in an amount of about 3 to 8% by weight and the non-conductive resin may be used in an amount of about 5 to 8% by weight. In one embodiment, platform binder systems for the photoactive layer contains constituents such as nano particle titanium dioxide, strontium based phosphors, solar nano dots, and photovoltaic materials that are incorporated within the platform binder system as photoactive pigments.

In one embodiment, the additives and fillers discussed herein are incorporated into the resin and then extruded into a layer that is cured, and the layer is ground to form a solid resin flake, pigment or fusion powder. The powder may have an average particle size of about 25 to 35 micron in one embodiment.

In one embodiment, the solar active or photovoltaic or photoactive layer may have the composition shown in Table 1 below. The photoactive or solar active layer is responsible for collecting and generating photo generated charged carriers which are transported to collect at opposite electrodes. The photoactive pigments can extract energy from the Sun and other lighting resources such as standard Daylight (D65), Cool White Fluorescent lighting (CWF) with minimum time required.

TABLE 1 Example: Solar Active Layer* Powder Coating Resin 55.8% Absorption Pigments  3.5% Organic conjugated Solar Active Material  4.0% Titanium Dioxide 15.0% Polymeric Isocyanurate Curative 21.7% Total  100% *SP 033 Sun Chemicals

In one embodiment, the photo or solar active pigments that are suitable for use in photovoltaic cells are incorporated into the resin for the photoactive layer alone or in combination with strong absorbers (as illustrated in Table 1 above) such as the absorbers disclosed for incorporation into the absorptive base layer disclosed below. In one embodiment, the photoactive pigment is incorporated into a platform binder resin system additionally containing flow additives and curatives and absorption type pigmentation in an extruder. The extruded layer is cured and ground to provide a powder coating material for forming the photoactive layer. The powder coating can be sprayed on a support, namely the absorptive layer, and heated 15 min. at 375° F. to form the photoactive coating. In one embodiment, the photoactive layer is about 2.5 to 5.0 mils thick in one embodiment of the invention.

Examples of photovoltaic or photoactive materials useful herein include (Si) silicone, (GaAs) gallium-arsenide, (CdTe) cadmium-telluride, (CIS) cadium-indium-selenide, amorphous silicon, polycrystalline silicone Silicon base powder material increases the conductivity and acts as a barrier to hold the energy. In one embodiment, the photoactive pigment is obtained by coating a photoactive dye on a semiconductor carrier. One advantageous solar active material prepared by coating magnesium phthalocyanine on glass flakes such as GF 200 grade. In one embodiment, the photoactive material is a SEMIC (semiconductor) based material crushed into powder form less than 9.0 microns and then blended using a master batch into Ruco 1 18 resin.

The same process may be followed for other photoactive materials at very low resin to powder ratios, e.g., 98/2 ratio.

Examples of solar active materials include strontium based phosphors such as strontium aluminate pigments. These pigments may be produced with a photoluminescent layer having a fluorescence of 300 to 800 nm on 0.687 mm white-based polyester urethane base. Strontium aluminates base phosphors are used in one embodiment and have exciting wavelengths of 300 to 450 nm.

The photo responsive fillers can also be introduced in the form of nanodots. Examples of solar nanodots useful in the invention are nanocrystal semic (semiconductors) with indium tin oxide and an organic solar active material. In one embodiment, the nanodots have a particle size of about 1.0 to 2.0 microns and in one embodiment are blended into a conductive resin blend having a melt viscosity of about 8500 (at 200°) containing a curative such as TGIC in order to obtain solar selective absorption coatings. The photoactive pigment may be incorporated into the conductive resin blend in an amount of about 0.1 to 0.5% in one embodiment. In one embodiment, a solar nanodot pigment useful in one embodiment is made by master batching conductive pigments into a polyurethane resin including TiO₂ and SiO₂ and creating sub droplets having an particle size less than about 2 μm. In one embodiment, the solar active material is present in the solar active layer in an amount of up to about 4% by wt. and more typically about 2.5 to 4.5% by weight.

Absorptive Layer

The absorption of light is required to activate the photoactive pigment or nanodots in the photoactive layer. The light source can be and actinic source such as direct light such as sunlight/Daylight D65 or conventional generated light such as CWF or Fluorescent.

The layer containing the absorptive pigments and the protective coating layer can be made using powder coating compositions that may be made using various resins known to the powder fusion coating art including polyurethanes, triglycidylisocyanaturate (TGIC) resins, primid resin systems, epoxy resins, hybrid polyester and epoxy resin combinations (e.g., epoxy, epoxy-polyester) urethane-polyester, TGIC-free polyester which are free of TGIC and acrylic coating materials. Other constituents include curatives, flow aids, degassing agents, catalysts, pigments, modifiers, fillers and charge inhibitors, photoelectric cells, cadium nanocrystals (cd), nano-carbon type pigments and conjugated polymers.

Examples of absorption pigmentations include V-9415 Yellow, V-9248 Blue, 10202 Black Pigments from Ferro and Ellipse Titanium Dioxide Pigment, Monarch 800 Carbon Black from Cabot Industries, strontium aluminate pigments and nano-carbon pigments. The function of these pigments is to reflect light to the solar active pigments where the light produces an electric voltage in the electrode. The absorptive pigment is incorporated into the base layer in one embodiment in an amount of about 3 to 4.5%. However, larger amounts can be used but add to the expense of the device. Titanium dioxide is a particularly desirable absorptive filler. In one embodiment it is used in an amount up to about 16 wt. % in the absorptive layer.

In one embodiment the absorptive layer is a white nanoporous Ti02 base powder coating at 1-2 mils thick for absorption of incident light. Increasing absorptive layer thickness, ultimately results in increased light absorption and energy retainment in the photoactive layer. An example of an absorptive pigment layer is provided in Table 2 below:

TABLE 2 Absorptive layer Titanium White Base* Ruco 118 Polyester Resin   331 g  46.0% AG300 Acrylic Resin   131 g  18.3% NI2 Polymeric Isocyanate curative 90.09 g  12.6% MOD 6000 Flow aid 10.16 g  1.42% 104S De-gassing agent  8.04 g  1.12% RCL 960 Titanium dioxide 150.0 g 20.56% Total   100% *Rucote 118—Bayer Science Materials, AG300—Sun Polymer International, NI 2—Bayer Science Materials, MOD 6000—Cytec Industries, 104S—Air Products, RCL-960 Titanium—DuPont Protective Layer

In one embodiment, the top or protective layer has the composition shown in Table 3. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the protective function of this layer can be obtained with other compositions provided that the protective layer is compatible with the underlying solar active layer such that it adheres to it without substantially diminishing the light transmitted to the solar active layer.

TABLE 3 Protective Layer* Ruco 106 Polyester Resin   462 g 81.0% 1 NI2 Polymeric Isocyanate  90.09 g 15.8% 2 Mod 6000 Flow aid  10.16 g 1.78% 3 104S De-gassing Agent  8.04 g 1.41% 4 Total 570.29 g  100% *Rucote 106—Bayer Science Materials, AG300—Sun Polymer International, NI 2—Bayer Science Materials, MOD 6000—Cytec Industries, 104S—Air Products, RCL-960 Titanium—DuPont

This platform includes pigments that are blended, e.g., using a master batch, with other constituents such as resins, curatives and flow aids. The component constituents comprising the admixture are extruded to distribute the constituents to form an extrusion product. Any suitable extruder may be utilize a singe or twin screw mechanism. In one embodiment, the blended constituents are placed in the extruder hopper and fed via the screw mechanism to the extruder die, preferable with three to four temperature zones. The zone settings may be respectively 60/60/80/140° F. The blended constituents are extruded at about 300 rpm and at a feed rate of about 400 g/min. to form an extrusion product. The flow aid facilitates blending of constituents in the extrusion product. The extrusion products are fed through chill rolls and cured in an oven subsequently for about 15 mins at about 375° F.

The photoactive layer is coated with the protective overcoat which may be a clear coating designed to protect the coatings outdoors. The protective layer must be an outdoor resistance layer such as polyurethane or acrylic base TGIC combination. In one embodiment, the protective layer is about 2.0 to 4.0 mils in thickness and cured at 15 min at 375° F. It protects the underlying layers from ambient air to prevent degradation of the active layer and electrode materials by the effect of water and oxygen making the photoactive layer photochemically stable and preserving the active layer.

Quantitative results illustrates this proprietary technique allows us to utilize this eco-friendly solution to preserve energy up to 24 hours which will dramatically reduce energy costs. The technology as a powder coating can be applied on various substrate types such as plastic, metal, aluminum, wood, concrete, paper, cloth, stucco and a host of other materials to act as a base to generate electricity, examples being architecture buildings, automobiles, mobile phones, or anything which requires power usage to operate.

While individual aspects of the invention are recited above, it is possible to couple specific features and limitations associated with one aspect to that of another aspect. Further, the functions and actions associated with the method aspect may further inform the structural features of apparatus aspects noted herein. Any of these foregoing features may form the basis for subsequent claims to still further aspects of the invention, even though all of those aspects may not be individually recited herein.

Although the embodiments of this disclosure have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to just the described embodiments, but that the embodiments described herein are capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the claims hereafter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the present specification, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present specification are possible. Each of the components described above may be combined or added together in any permutation to define an introducing device and/or introducing system. Accordingly, the present specification is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. The claims as follows are intended to include all modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the claims or the equivalent thereof. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a solar-active object capable of generating electricity when a coated surface of the object is exposed to actinic, photo, or solar energy, the method comprising: providing a substrate; providing a first powder coating composition having a conductive polymeric resin and at least one photovoltaic or solar-active pigment; applying the first powder coating composition onto the substrate so that, upon subsequent heating, the first powder coating composition creates a photoactive layer in which the at least one photovoltaic or solar-active pigment is embedded within a matrix formed by the conductive resin; optionally, applying an optional powder coating composition onto the photoactive layer to create a protective layer; applying an additional powder coating composition onto the substrate to create an absoprtive layer, the additional powder coating composition including a second resin and at least one light-absorptive or reflective pigment, and wherein the additional powder coating composition is applied to the substrate before the first powder coating composition so that the absorptive layer is interposed between the substrate and the photoactive layer; and heating all powder coating composition(s) on the substrate to form a fused laminate film adhered to the substrate.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the additional powder coating composition includes a second conductive polymeric resin.
 3. The method according to claim 1 wherein all of the powder coating compositions collectively utilize about 30-45% total pigment loading by weight.
 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein, prior to applying the additional powder coating composition, the light-absorptive and/or reflective pigment(s) are blended with the additional resin while the second powder coating composition is being extruded.
 5. The method according to claim 1 wherein a temperature during the heating is maintained at 375° F. for at least 15 minutes.
 6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the heating occurs separately for each powder coating composition prior to applying any subsequent powder composition(s).
 7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the light absorptive and/or reflective pigment(s) are present in the additional powder coating composition are collectively between 3% to 4.5% by weight of the second powder composition.
 8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises metal or aluminum.
 9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the photoactive layer includes an organic dye photoactive material and/or nanodots.
 10. The method according to claim 1 wherein, prior to applying the first powder coating composition, the photovoltaic and/or solar-active pigment(s) are blended with the first resin while the first powder coating composition is being extruded.
 11. The method according to claim 1 wherein a temperature during the heating is maintained at 375° F. for at least 15 minutes.
 12. The method according to claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises at least one of wood, plastic, metal, concrete, and aluminum.
 13. The method according to claim 1 wherein the heating occurs separately for each powder coating composition prior to applying any subsequent powder coating composition.
 14. The method according to claim 1 wherein photoactive layer is about 2.5 to 5.0 mils thick.
 15. The method according to claim 1 wherein the photovoltaic and/or solar-active pigment(s) are present in the first powder coating composition at between 2.5% to 4.5% by weight of the first powder coating composition.
 16. The method according to claim 1 wherein the substrate is a conductive substrate.
 17. The method according to claim 1 wherein the optional protective layer is present and wherein each powder coating composition is heated separately.
 18. The method according to claim 1 wherein each powder coating composition is heated separately. 